Improvement in spindle-sheaths and cop-tubes



g G. H. SIMMONS. SPINDLE-SHEATH AND COP-TUBE. No.172,5 ,0. Patented. Jan .18,1876.

UnlITED STATES PATENT DEFIcE. v

eEoEeE H. SIMMONS, OF BENNINGTON, VERMONT.

IMPROVEMENT IN SPlNDLE-SHEATHS AND COP-TUBES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 172,5 10, dated January 18, 1876; application riled January 14, 1876.

in g of perfect cops, the avoidance of waste in winding them,the avoidance of a necessity for steaming them to avoid kinks, the insuring of a uniform and complete delivery ofall the yarn from the shuttle during weaving, and the prevention of waste yarn during the spinning, in the process of handling, and during the weaving.

In the drawings, which illustrate the means by which I practice my invention, Figure 1 represents a cop-tube constructed in accordance with my invention, and which is slitted throughout its entire length; Fig. 2, the same, with a cop wound thereon, the latter being partially broken away to show the manner in which it retains its hold, both upon the tube and also upon the shuttle-skewer, when the tube and its cop are transferred thereto; and Figs. 3, 4, and 5, tubes with openings or perforations of a form different from those in Figs. 1 and 2 and Fig. 6 represents the amount of waste apt to be thrownaway.

It is well known to those versed in the arts of spinning and weaving that the waste and loss of timeand money are very great in winding the cops, in handling them and piecing the broken yarn, from pilfering or destroying the ends in steaming, and in breakage, uneven delivery, piecing during weaving, and in breaking down the cop while on the shuttle-skewer, and causing the throwing away of a large portion of it in consequence, besides a host of other disadvantages incident to the cops as now made.

To avoid thesedifticulties and disadvantages I prepare from metal or other suitable material a tube, A, or sheath, long enough to extend entirely through the wound cop, and make holes or perforations b entirely through it throughout all or most of its length. This tube being placed upon the spindle of the mule or spinning-machine, it Will now be seen that, in the act of winding thereon the yarn as spun, a portion of the yarn Will, wherever it is Wound across the openings or perforations b, impinge against and bind upon the spindle itself. This checks any revolution of the tube upon the spindle, and insures a uniform tension, which is impossible, at all times, when winding in the ordinary way direct upon a smooth spindle, for it is well known that in the present practice the yarns often break, and that it takes much time to repair, and thus prevents the making of a perfect cop; and it also gives difl'erent or variable degrees of solidity throughout its body, which my device prevents, as it will readily be seen that my cops will be equally solid from base to summit, being equally sustained and protected at all times during the spinning. By my device it is impossible to make a loose cop, or one from which, when transferred to the shuttle-skewer, the yarn will not all weave off down to its end. Again, all variableness in the inner core of the cop is avoided. This has been a serious difficulty hitherto, causing a tendency to damage when put on the shuttleskewer, and a frequent necessity for pulling out and wasting much of this core to fit the cop to the skewer. This is more especially the case after the cops have been submitted to the customary steaming process, which contracts the size of its bore and increases the amount of yarn required to be pulled away and wasted, as the bore must be reduced to the size of the skewer. With my tubes no contraction can take place, as they are transferred direct to the skewer, and as a consequence of this, and of the more perfect character of the winding, no steaming is necessary, and the cost and loss resulting theretubes, produce a given predetermined number of yards of cloth. Thus the number charged is a tell-tale and a check against dishonesty.

This completely revolutionizes the whole system as heretofore practiced in weaving-mills, and inaugurates a new and important change in the management and economy of manufactories. The Weaver must always return the empty tubes, and has no excuse for waste or loss of yarn.

In the transportation of cops my invention is a great saving, as none are liable to injury, while now every one is in great peril from very slight causes, as they need to be handled with the greatest delicacy. Indeed, it may be said, in brief, that by my invention cop-waste becomes a thing of the past, as I prevent it from the period ofmaking the yarn until it becomes a part of the woven fabric.

The unequal and imperfect conditions which always exist in cops as at present constructed demand the constant care and attention of the superintendent of the weaver-shop, he being required to expand or contract the shuttleskewer, (which'is slitted for that purpose,) so that the cop may be held secure in weaving.

This is all unnecessary by my invention, inasmuch asthe cop and tube adapt themselves to the skewer, the tube and yarn themselves being the holding and self-adjusting device,

the splitted or slit tube being preferably slightly smaller than the skewer, so as to expand slightly when placed thereon, and the yarn which projects inward through the openings, as shown at 0, forming cushions, which come directly in contact with the skewer.

When desired, the tube need not be slitted longitudinally.

I am aware that straight short cop-tubes have been made with openings, whereby they are made lighter, and also that they have been made with an opening in the direction of their length, to permit the skewer-spring of the shuttle to project through such slot and press upon the interior of the cop. These, therefore, I do not claim 5 but I clairh- A cop-tube formed from metal or other suit- 7 able materiahofa length eq ual to or greater than the cop, and provided with small or short apertures in its sides, whereby the cop is securely held to the spindle during the process of spinning, and to the shuttle-skewer, and thereby prevented from sliding off from the tube during the process of weaving, as set forth.

' GEO. H. SIMMONS. Witnesses:

JOHN J. HALSTED, WM. '1. HORRQBIN. 

